The Wayward Child
by mermaid2bseeker
Summary: Who is the mysterious woman that appeared inside the Tardis? A rewrite of The Christmas Invasion, written 9 months ago. As many others did, I thought of a way to bring Rose back. Was originally going to be part of a series, but the idea was scrapped.


"The Wayward Child"  
by mermaid2bseeker

This story was originally going to be the beginning of my alternate series 3. As many people did, I thought of a way to bring Rose back. This story was completed around when Smith and Jones first aired in the UK and it's been sitting on my hard drive ever since. I had planned to write alternate episodes for all series 3, but that was before I grew to like Martha. Except for the rewrite of Smith and Jones which is half way done, my other ideas for the series were left on the drawing board.

Now for the story:

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The Doctor made his way round the console, pushing the buttons and levers that would move the ship into the vortex. Now that the gap in the universe was sealed and he had said his—interrupted—goodbyes to Rose, there was no reason to continue orbiting the supernova.

A flash of something caught his eye and he looked up. A young woman in jeans and a green shirt stood in front of the doors, with her back to him.

"What?" the Doctor asked in shock.

The woman turned to face him and chuckled. "I can't believe that worked," she said and smiled with laughter.

"What?"

"Hey! She recognizes me." Ignoring his outbursts, the woman rushed up the console and petted it. "Hello, ol'girl."

"But—"

The woman looked up at him and smiled. "Hello, Doctor."

"What??!"

---opening sequence---

Doctor Who  
starring:  
David Tennant  
Billie Piper

The Wayward Child  
by Not-Russell-T.-Davies

----------------------------

The Doctor, having gotten over his momentary shock walked over to her and scanned her with the sonic screwdriver. "Who are you?"

"Do you want the truth?"

"Yes."

"Too bad. Can't give you the truth. How about a nice lie?" She held out her hand. "Name's Alexandra, most people call me Alex, or Ally, even AJ, though I don't know why."

Not knowing what else to do he shook her hand.

As soon as he let go, Alex rushed to the opposite side of the console. She knelt down and pulled open the grating. He watched her crawl into the workspace.

In nearly a millennium of travel, he had never met anyone with such impudence as she was showing. It was quite baffling. He was stunned. Alex was a complete stranger, but she acted as though she knew what she was doing.

She pulled her head out. "Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help? This is your Tardis, after all."

That's right, this was his Tardis, and how dare she tinker with his ship. Frankly, he had had enough. "No, I am not going to help. Stop it. You are going to explain--" he gestured wildly "--all this to me."

She sighed, and went back to work. "Alright. Give me a minute, I'm almost done." She pulled something out of her pocket. It was large, green and glowing.

He began tapping his foot in annoyance.

"Geez, keep your knickers on." She connected the glowing thing to something else. "Al-most." There was a click. "Got it." She crawled out from the workspace and wiped her hands on her jeans, leaving grease stains behind.

He looked at her incredulously. "Has anyone ever told you you're quite rude?" he asked.

She grinned proudly. "Yep, that's me. 'Rude and not ginger.' Well, not yet." She gestured to her dark hair. "I'm planning to dye it soon."

He couldn't have heard her right. "What did you say?" She talked so fast, it was easy to miss something.

"Thought you'd recognize that." Alex smirked.

The Doctor sailed past confused, skipped bewildered and landed in disoriented. This whole situation was dizzying, just thinking about it hurt. Slowly, he ran through the possibilities, but nothing he could imagine made sense. Yet, there was a part of him that recognized her as someone he should know intimately—or would know. The more he thought about it, the more that theory worked, so he ran with it.

"Are you me?" he asked. "Uh, uh, I mean, am I gonna be you?"

She laughed. "I didn't know Time Lords could swap genders."

He answered before he could think about her answer. "Not normally no, but there were rare cases…" His brain mentally smacked him to shut up. Then he thought about it. "Wait, how do you know about…"

"If you're not careful, you're gonna give yourself a neural implosion."

She joked, but it disturbed him, normally he could have just breezed through this conundrum, but ever since Rose left half his brain seemed to be shut off.

"Brain the size of a planet, can't even recognize a predestination paradox when you see one."

"Hey! I just…." Nope, wasn't gonna talk about it. He switched to sarcasm. "I'm sorry I'm not smart enough for you right now. Come back in a century or two."

Alex sobered immediately. "I know," she said with understanding. "And I'm here to fix it."

"How?" Could she have thought of something he missed?

She sighed sadly. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?!"

"Because _we_ haven't thought of it…yet." She said the words slowly and with emphasis.

When he looked at her, he saw both a great intelligence and the burden of that intelligence reflected in her blue eyes. Those eyes, so familiar; how many times had he seen himself reflected in Rose's brown eyes, just as he did now in Alex's blue ones? Something clicked in his mind, a tiny echoing thought.

He walked around the console, to put a little distance between them. "How did you get here?" he changed the subject.

"I have huon particles in my DNA. Don't worry, they're harmless to me," she added at his worried expression. "I was born with them, so I guess I'm immune." She paused to think. "I traveled to today, activated the particles, and got sucked to the Tardis like a magnet."

Sitting down from the severity of the situation, he rubbed his forehead. "Do you have any idea how dangerous what you're doing is?" There were so many ways it could go wrong.

"Yes. I also know we succeed." She walked over to him. "My presence is proof."

"We're really gonna get Rose?"

"When everything's said and done, you'll be able to hop 'tween worlds no problem. That is, after you build the 'Cosmic Hopper.' That's what I call that green device."

A few minutes passed in silence as the Doctor thought about it all. Finally, he stood up. "Let's do this."

They spent the next few hours working together on the Tardis. It was hard work, even with the ship cooperating. The 'cosmic hopper' Alex connected seemed to be in a state of dimensional flux, so the Tardis was having trouble adapting to its input.

"So what's the plan?" The Doctor asked as he performed percussive maintenance on the console.

"Oh, nothing fancy." Alex adjusted some settings on the monitor. "We slide through the rift in Cardiff—back when it was still rift, not a scar—and land on Pete's World. Then we hop forward to Dalig Ulv Stranden and rescue Rose. After that it's just a matter of reversing the polarity of the neutron flow and reversing the steps. You guys drop me off in 2007 London and go off on your adventures."

He sighed. "The Tardis can't use the other universe's energy. Once we land, we'd be stuck there."

"What do you think the hopper's for? It's a pan-dimensional, pan-universal energy source."

"Ooh, really? How does it work?" he asked, leaning over to see what she was doing.

She turned the screen away. "Sorry, can't tell you. Trans-temporal secrecy and all that." Watching as he started to pace around the room, she added, "don't worry, you'll figure it out. Eventually." Grinning, she went back to work.

_I do not like this. Not at all. _Those thoughts weren't her own. She looked to the Doctor, but he was still pacing. _How can I trust her? She's just a stupid ape. And she's from the future. _All that time without his people had made him forget to keep his thoughts quiet inside the Tardis. The ship formed psychic connections with everyone it met but only advanced persons could hear through the connection. _I don't like people who know more about my future than I do. How does she know so much about my Tardis? Who is she? How do I know her?_ She wanted to stop him thinking so loud because it was interrupting her, but she didn't know how to do it without revealing the lack of privacy he had. These thoughts weren't meant for her or anyone else to hear.

She checked her calculations; they were perfect. "Doctor!" He looked up. "We're ready."

--------- --------- ---------

Rose squeezed her mum tightly, trying to force the pain away. It hurt so much, she felt like it was tearing her apart, her chest burned and it was hard to breathe. And it wasn't going away, if anything it was getting worse. Something was burning her. She realized it was the Tardis key, which had hung around her neck since she first became trapped here.

"What is it?" Jackie asked as Rose quickly pulled out of the embrace. "What's wrong?"

Rose yanked the key out from inside her clothes. It was glowing softly. The wind, strong to begin with, picked up in speed and carried with it a faint grinding sound that grew louder each second.

"He really does love you," Jackie said, looking over Rose's shoulder.

Rose spun around in time to see the Tardis finish materializing right where the Doctor's image had appeared. The door opened and the Doctor stepped out, his tan coat flapping in the wind.

"Go to him."

She turned back to her mum, puzzled.

Jackie hugged her tightly. "As much as I hate to say it, you don't belong here. You belong with him."

Rose began crying again. "But I'll…"

"No buts." Jackie was crying as well. "I'm your mum; I know what's best for you." She paused, choking back a sob. "I got a second chance with Pete; don't give up your second chance with the Doctor."

"I'll miss you."

"I know sweetheart. I'll miss you too."

"I love you, mum."

"I love you, too." Jackie let go of Rose and turned her towards the Doctor. "Now run."

Rose did just that. When she reached the Tardis, the Doctor picked her up in a sweeping hug. "You said I could never see you again," she told him.

"Yes, and I've never been so glad to be wrong." He spotted Jackie walking towards them and put Rose back on the ground. "I think your mum wants to talk to me."

The Doctor steeled himself for a slap and Jackie didn't disappoint. "That's for making Rose cry," she said after. He wasn't prepared for the kiss she gave him. "That's for coming back for her." She started sobbing.

He hugged her. "I'll take care of Rose, I promise."

"I know you will."

"This isn't forever," he said once she let go. "You'll see us again, sooner than we see you. Although, it still might be a few years."

She nodded. "Just be careful out there."

"We will." He held Rose's hand and together they entered the Tardis, the doors closing behind them.

Once inside, Rose leaned back against the doors. The Doctor stood beside her still holding her hand. "I'm sorry about the projection cutting out early." She looked to him. "Rose Tyler, I love you." Puffy-eyed and teary-faced, she broke into a wide smile.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a kiss. Her hands wound their way through his hair as she reciprocated. They were both a little breathless when they separated.

It took a few moments for Rose to notice the time rotor oscillating. "Who's flying the ship?" she asked.

"I am." A woman walked out from behind the console. "Hello."

Rose wasn't jealous. After all, didn't the Doctor just say he loved her? Well, maybe a teeny, weeny, little bit jealous. Here was a woman who had obviously spent enough time with the Doctor to learn how to fly the Tardis. "Who's she?"

"I don't know." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, not yet. I will know her once I meet her."

A pause, then, "what?"

"This is Alex. She's from our future." He thought about it. "Actually, this isn't the first time I've encountered a companion before I've met them."

"Oh." Rose still didn't understand, but she didn't care. She was home, that's all that mattered for now. She walked up to the console and ran a hand along its familiar curves.

"Hey, Doctor," Alex checked the monitor. "We're here."

"Where's here?"

"Cardiff." Both the Doctor and Alex answered.

Rose nodded. "Always Cardiff."

"Yes, well. The ride's only half-done. We're still in Pete's world," Alex told her. "You might want to hold onto something. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

"Isn't it always," Rose quipped, but grabbed onto the railing all the same.

Bumpy was the understatement of the year. Once it started, it felt like the Tardis was trying to shake itself apart. Not only that but Rose could feel the ship rotating in space. Now she knew what it felt like to be clothes in the dryer. Luckily, it stopped before she tossed her lunch. At some point, she had sat and curled herself around the railing.

He grabbed her hands and lifted her off the floor. "Here we are then. London 2007." He looked to Alex. "Come on, it's your stop."

"Hang on." She was under the console. "Just have to—" a circuit sparked "ow. Don't worry ol'girl you'll see me again."

Rose leaned into the Doctor. "She's a very strange woman," she whispered.

"Yup."

More sparking. "Ow, give it back!" Alex growled in annoyance. "If you don't stop it, I'm gonna turn you into a port-a-loo when I get back. Thank you." She stood up with the cosmic hopper in her hands which she shoved into her pocket. "Let's go."

The three of them walked along a busy street. Alex noticed the street signs. "My ride's a bit far away. I'll have to take a taxi."

"Never mind that, look it's Christmas time," Rose said grinning.

The Doctor glanced at the window dressings. "Oh, so it is." He turned to Alex, "suppose you'll need some money then."

"Yeah, just a little."

He led them to an ATM and cajoled some money out with his screwdriver. He flipped through the notes, counting them. "This'll be enough," he said and handed it to Alex.

"Thanks, I'll pay you back."

"What for? It's not mine."

"Are you sure?" Rose took one of the notes from Alex's hand. "Because it says right here, 'I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of ten satsumas.' And look, there's your picture on it." She showed him the note.

"What!" He rolled his eyes and checked his sonic screwdriver. "Sorry, wrong setting. Let's try that again." This time the notes that came out were genuine money.

"I'll see you later," Alex waved bye.

"Yes, off you go, back to the future. Ooh," the Doctor turned to Rose, "now that was a wild movie. I mean the theory's sound, but that flux capacitor, total rubbish." Together they walked down the street. "You remember that bit where the mum has a crush on Marty, totally possible. As a great writer once said, there's nothing impossible with becoming your own grandfather…"

Rose glanced behind them and noticed a small group of santas with instruments. "Doctor."

"…the only trouble's with the matter of tenses." He paused to think. "Or maybe I'm paraphrasing. I'm pretty sure Douglas wrote something like that."

"Doctor!" she whispered.

"Mm, yes. What is it?"

She pointed. "I think those santas are following us."

The Doctor spun around and sure enough, an eerily familiar band of santas was trailing them. "Oh," he groaned. "Not again." He also noticed Alex getting into a taxi driven by a santa.

Rose grabbed his hand. "Time to run?"

He nodded. "Time to run."

Together they weaved through the pedestrian traffic and away from the santas, who thankfully weren't shooting yet.

"Come on, this way." The Doctor led them into a clothing store. Ignoring the startled gasps of shoppers, they made their way into the back and out the emergency doors.

They backtracked their way to the Tardis, and hurried inside.

Rose stood at the console while the Doctor worked some of the switches. "So, we're gonna save Alex?"

He smiled "Of course."

"We gonna save Christmas?"

"Yup, that too." He pointed to some of the switches on her side. "When the light flashes, push that, and turn that anti-clockwise."

"Right."

The Tardis started its dematerialization cycle. Almost immediately a light in front of her flashed, so she pushed and turned the switches.

"Oh, good girl." He checked the monitor. "Yup. Perfect."

She grinned. Three months had passed and it was as if she never left.

"Okay. Look, this," he gestured to a lever, "Forward, stop, and reverse. Easy yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good, when I tell you to, use it." He walked to the doors.

The monitor showed they were in midair. "Where are you going?" she asked.

He opened the doors and stood in the entrance. "Oh, nowhere."

The Tardis was flying alongside Alex's taxi. The Doctor leaned out of the doorway and used his sonic screwdriver.

Alex rolled down the window and shouted, "Santa's a robot!"

"I know!"

"What do you mean, you know? And you still let me get in this taxi!"

He shook his head. "Yell at me later. Jump now."

She blanched. "What!?"

"Open the door and jump into the Tardis!"

"I am not jumping out of a moving car in the middle of a motorway." The taxi sped up weaved between some motorists.

The Doctor turned back to Rose. "Go forward." She pushed the lever and the Tardis collided with something. "Okay, stop." She pulled the lever back to the middle.

He turned back to the taxi. "You've got to jump. Come on, you're from my future, you should know how this works out."

"Oh. Ha, ha. My future could end in your present for all I know!"

"What ever they want you for is not good! Jump, please!"

Alex opened the taxi door and crouched at the edge of the frame. The Doctor held his arms out to catch her. "One, two, three!" She leapt forward and landed in his arms. They both tumbled to the grating and he kicked the doors closed.

"I officially hate you," she said panting.

"What! I just saved your life."

"No, I hate you for not telling me about this when you first sent me on this mission."

"Well, maybe I didn't tell you about this because you just told me I never told you about this." he quipped.

"Sometimes I hate time travel," she grumbled and stood up.

"Then why'd you become a companion?" Rose asked.

Alex grinned. "Who said I was a companion?"

"You are very strange," Rose said.

"Well, I had very strange parents."

"Oh, who were they?"

"The better question is," The Doctor said, steering Rose away from her query. "What do those santas want with you? Why you and not someone else?"

"She's a time traveler?"

"Good thinking. Very good, but no. They could have taken one of us, then. Same for void stuff."

"Huon particles?" Alex offered.

"Well, normally that's useless. It needs a living organism to convert it to energy. Yes!" He scratched his hair while thinking. "This is stressful for you, yeah, rescuing Rose, making sure not to cause paradoxes." Alex nodded. "Should have figured that, with all the humor you've been using to mask your emotions. Anyways, your hormone levels are skyrocketing right now, so the huon particles in your body are being catalyzed into energy."

He walked to the console and started flipping switches and reading the monitor.

"Doctor, those santas, are more Sycorax coming?" Rose asked. "Last time they came it was to use you as a battery. Are they trying to do that to Alex?"

"Hmm. No, not the Sycorax, they aren't nearly old enough to know how to use huon energy. Whoever it is, is billions of years old, maybe trillions. See, they need Alex because huon particles don't exist anymore except for inside the Tardis. That's how she got here in the first place, like a magnet, she pulled herself into the Tardis while it was still floating in space. Huon particles attract each other." The monitor beeped. "Ah ha, now to find out who's behind this."

The three of them walked through an underground tunnel, Rose holding the Doctor's hand.

"So where are we?" she asked.

"Oh, the sub-sub-basement of some company," he answered. He noticed the walls were a little damp. "Hang on." He walked over and rubbed his finger along the wall, then he licked it.

"I can't believe you just did that," Alex said.

"I think," The Doctor paused, "we're under the Thames." He licked his finger again. "Yup, definitely the Thames."

"Gross."

Together they made their way into a strange laboratory. Inside were many tubes of liquid along with some strange equipment.

The Doctor recognized what it was used for. "Particle extrusion. Oh, that's brilliant." He put on his glasses and looked closer at some of the instruments. "Using hydrogen from the river, trying to manufacture liquid huon particles. Too bad they're doing it wrong. Complete rubbish for huon energy. But perfect for cold fusion."

Suddenly there were some bangs and loud noises. A voice crackled through the air. "I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe." One of the laboratory walls slid open, revealing a large secret room. In the center was a giant hole in the floor and lining the walls were dozens of cloaked robots with guns.

The Doctor walked in and the two women followed him. He peered into the hole. "Wow, somebody's been digging. Drilled by laser. How far does it go?"

"Down and down," the voice answered, "all the way to the center of the Earth."

"Really?" He made a face. "Seriously? What for?"

"Heat energy." Rose suggested.

"Maybe, but then why use huon energy."

The voice laughed. "Such a sweet couple."

"Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?"

"High in the sky, floating so high on Christmas Night."

"Come on, let's have a look at you!" he cajoled.

The voice hissed. "Who are you with such command?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"Prepare your best medicines, doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart." An ugly spider-lady teleported in front of them and snarled.

He stared at the spider-lady in shock. "That's impossible. You're one of the Racnoss!"

"Empress of the Racnoss." The spider-lady smiled and clicked her claws.

The Doctor turned to Rose. "The Racnoss came from the Dark Times, billions of years ago, billions. They were carnivores, omnivores, they devoured whole planets"

"Racnoss are born starving." The Empress hissed. "Is that our fault?"

"They eat people?" Rose asked.

Alex pointed upwards. "Yeah." A web stretched across the ceiling and caught in that web was a definitely human skeleton.

"Oh my god!"

"My Christmas dinner." The Empress cackled.

"You shouldn't even exist!" The Doctor shouted. "Way back in history, the Racnoss were wiped out."

"Who are you, little physician?"

"Oh, I'm sort of…homeless. But the real question is, what's down there?" He pointed to the hole. "The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth."

The Empress laughed. "I think you want me to talk." She turned to the robots. "Kill this little chattering doctor-man"

Rose stepped in front of him. "Don't you hurt him!"

"Rose, it's all right." He grabbed her waist and tried to pull her back.

She turned to him. "No, I won't let them. I just got you back."

"Trust me," he said.

"At arms." The Empress yelled.

The robots all lifted their guns and pointed them at him. Alex joined Rose in shielding the Doctor.

"Take aim!"

"Just-just-just-hold on. If you think about it, the particles in Alex drew her into my spaceship. So, reverse it, the spaceship comes to her." He took out his sonic screwdriver and activated it.

"Fire!"

Slowly, the Tardis seemed to gather itself around the three of them. The robots all fired their weapons but the ship protected them

The Doctor turned off the screwdriver and ran to the console. "Off we go, into time and space." The time rotor powered up and the Tardis entered the vortex.

"We need to find out what the Empress is digging up," Alex said. "And why they need me."

"Doctor," Rose began, "if something's at the center of the Earth, doesn't that mean it's always been there?"

"That's just brilliant!" He smiled at her. "Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this. Rose, we're going further back than I've ever been before."

The Tardis shook as it traveled through time.

The Tardis materialized in space, floating within an enormous dirt and rock cloud. The doors opened and Rose, the Doctor and Alex looked out at it.

"It's beautiful," Rose said. "Where are we?"

"We never moved. It's just 4.6 billion years in your past. There's no Solar System, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas." He pointed to the nearest source of light. "That's the Sun, over there. Just beginning to burn."

"Where's the Earth?" Alex asked.

"All around us…it's the rocks and dust."

Rose smiled. "That's how it ends too. In rocks and dust."

"Our first date." The Doctor grinned. "The Earth lasts for over 10 billion years." Longer than my planet did. "Anyway, back to the here and now. Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, everything, piling in until you get the…"

"Earth," Rose said.

"But the question is…what was that first rock?"

In front of them, a strange star-shaped rock emerged from the dust clouds. The other rocks, dust and gas began gravitating to the star rock.

"That's a Racnoss ship. What's it doing?"

"Exactly what you said," Alex replied.

"Oh, that's brilliant. They didn't just bury something at the center of the Earth. They are the center of the Earth, the first rock."

Suddenly, the Tardis shook violently. Rose nearly fell into Alex, "What was that?!"

"Trouble," The Doctor answered and slammed the doors shut. The ship continued to shake and rattle all over.

"Why the hell is it doing this?" Alex yelled over the noise.

"I don't know." He smacked the console in an effort to make it respond better. "Oh, come on." No matter what he flipped or switched or turned the ship kept shaking. "I think the Empress is pulling us back."

"She can do that?" Rose asked.

"Apparently."

"Can't you stop it or something?" Alex asked. "I know this ship has a handbrake."

"Stop being a backseat driver," he grumbled. "Ooh, wait! The extrapolator!" He reached under the console and pulled out the Tribophysical Waveform Macro-kinetic Extrapolator. "The extrapolator! It can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump."

The Tardis materialized inside the secret chamber and the Racnoss Empress laughed in delight. But it disappeared a second later and reappeared in an adjacent corridor.

Enraged the Empress shouted, "She is close. Find her! Find her!" The robots marched out of the chamber.

The three of them exited the ship. "We're 200 yards to the right, come on!" Together they ran down the corridor.

"What are we gonna do?" Alex asked, panting.

"Honestly, I don't know. I make it up as I go along!" The Doctor stopped to listen at a door labeled 'Thames Flood Barrier.' "But trust me, I've got a history, just ask Rose."

"But I don't understand. What do the Racnoss want with me?"

He took a stethoscope out of his pocket and used it to listen to the door again. "There's a Racnoss web at the center of the Earth, but my people unraveled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist almost everywhere so now the Racnoss are stuck."

Unbeknownst to either the Doctor or Rose, a robot grabbed Alex from behind, covering her mouth and dragged her away.

"They've just been in hibernation for billions of years. Frozen. Dead. Kaput! So, you're the new energy. They need you to open the web. But don't worry I think I've got a plan now." He turned around and saw only Rose behind him. "Where's Alex?"

Rose looked around, startled that Alex wasn't beside her.

The Empress cackled. "Activate the particles!" Alex, trapped in the web, glowed with a yellow light. "And release!" The particles flowed out from Alex and traveled down into the hole. "The secret heart unlocks. And they will awaken from their sleep of Ages."

The sound of a thousand spiders slowly echoed up the hole. "My children, the long lost Racnoss. My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web."

Alex struggled against the web strands. "Let me go, you overgrown tarantula."

"My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them." The Empress snarled and turned to a robot slowly climbing the stairs. "So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor-man."

The robot removed his mask and robes revealing himself the Doctor. "Oh well. Nice try. I've got you, Alex!" He held his sonic screwdriver up at her and the web loosened.

"I'm gonna fall!"

"You're gonna swing."

The web broke and Alex managed to keep hold on to one particularly long strand. She swung down from the ceiling and towards the Doctor.

"I've got ya!" Unfortunately, the web strand was too long, so Alex ended the swing under the Doctor's landing. "Oh, sorry."

However, Rose was there and caught her right before she would have smacked into the wall. "I got her," Rose told him.

The Empress cackled. "The doctor-man amuses me."

"Empress of the Racnoss," he spoke in his serious dangerous tone. "I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now."

She laughed. "Oh, I'm afraid I have to decline."

"Then what happens next is your own doing."

"My children will feast on your Martian flesh."

The Doctor smiled sadly. "But I'm not from Mars. My home planet is far away and long-since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey."

The Empress hissed in anger. "They murdered the Racnoss!"

"I warned you. You did this." He lifted his sonic screwdriver and activated it. All around the room, the robots self-destructed. Parts of the walls crumbled, letting the Thames water flood the chamber.

"My children!" The Empress watched as the water poured down the hole. "No! My children! My children!" She shrieked in pain as the flames consumed her.

The Doctor watched her for a few seconds, and then ran down the stairs. He grabbed both Rose and Alex by the hand. "Come on! Time I got you out!" Together they ran up the stairs to the roof entrance. They climbed out and stood on top of the flood barrier.

Alex looked out onto the river and laughed at what she saw. "There's a small problem, Doctor."

"What's that?"

"You've drained the Thames."

The three of them laughed as they saw the dry river bed and the boats stranded in the mud.

Though she'd only known Alex for a couple of hours, Rose felt as if she were saying goodbye to Mickey all over.

"I'll see you again, yeah?" she asked hugging Alex tightly.

"Of course." Alex hugged back. "I'll be back before I've even left."

Rose pulled back. "That makes no sense."

"Not yet. Give it time." Alex winked.

The Doctor led Alex to the Tardis doors. "Well I suppose your ride's worried sick about you."

"Yeah, probably." Together, the two of them exited the Tardis.

"So we name our daughter Alexandra?" he asked once they were out of hearing range of Rose.

Alex smiled. "No."

"But you said that was your name."

"Yes, and I also told you I was lying when I said that." She waved bye and walked down the street, making a turn and disappearing from view.

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A/N: Please review.

Episode dialogue taken from transcripts at http:// who-transcripts (dot) com


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